Dispensing containers



Jan 25 66 B. BQUET DISPENSING CONTAINERS Filed Aug. 29, 1962 United States Patent "Ice 3,231,139 DISPENSING CGNTAINERS Bernard Benet, 65 Rue la Boetie, Paris, France Filed Aug. 29, 1962, Ser. No. 220,335 Claims priority, application France, Sept. 12, 1961, 873,004 12 Claims. (Cl. 222-95) .T-he present invention relates to containers of the type use'd'for the packing and dispensing of various substances, such as pasty substances, liquids, or solids, and, more particularly, for the packing of pharmaceutical products.

It is important to prevent any displacement of solid substances in a container since the container is liable to be subjected to shock and impulse forces before its contents have been used up, which will cause breakage 'of the tablets, granulated substances, pills, or the like which are enclosed in the container, In the case of liquid or pasty substances, it is desirable to avoid the formation of air pockets inside of the container, because the presence of air is liable to bring about oxidation or other deterioration of the substance.

As far as containers for solid substances are concerned it is known to provide "damping pads made of cotton, wool, paper, or expanded (or foamed) substances, inside of the container, said damping pads being located at the bottom and in the plug of the container. Helical springs of plastic material have also been used for this purpose. These arrangements have proved efiicient for the packing and storage, but they become almost completely inefiicient when the product is partially consumed, because the known damping means are not -capable of filling up all of the empty space left in the container as part of its contents is withdrawn therefrom.

In the case of liquid or pasty substances, the use of foldable plastic containers of the accordion type has been suggested, but containers of this type have been found to be inconvenient because they contain a certain amount of elasticity, due to which the containers, once they have been compressed, tend to re'assume their initial shape and, accordingly take in air. Plastic tubes of the type generally used for dental paste show this same drawback.

Furthermore, none of the tubes or other dispensing c'ontainersof the above-cited types has hitherto permitted a relatively accurate control of the quantity dispensed each time the container is used. The present invention is concerned with overcoming these drawbacks and providing a simple, robust low cost container which is easy to use, and wherein the contents is at all times positively maintained and may be dispensed in controlled quantit ies.

it is an object of the invention to provide a container having a dispensing opening wherein a movable member is arranged within the container and is connected by traction means "to manually actuated control means cated outside of the container, for displacing said movable member towards said dispensing opening, whereby controlled quantities of the contents of said container can be dispensed through said opening, while the remainder of said contents is maintained stationary within said container, between any two successive dispensing operations. The effect of maintaining the movable member in place between any two successive dispensing operations is ad-- vantageously achieved by means for locking said control means.

In one advantageous embodiment, a container according to the invention comprises a tubular body closed by a fixed bottom wall at one end thereof and having said dispensing opening at the opposite end, said movable 3,231,139 Patented Jan. 25, 1966 member being constituted by a movable bottom slidingly mounted inside of the tubular body and progressively displaceable from an initial position adjacent said fixed bottom wall toward a final position adjacent said opening while said control means are displaceably mounted on the outer surface of the container, said tract-ion means being constituted by at least one flexible member passing through the wall of the container in the vicinity of the dispensing opening thereof and having its two ends connected to said movable bottom and said control means, respectively.

The flexible traction member may be constituted by a thread or a ribbon which may be guided by at least one guiding and reversing means adapted to impart at least one change of direction to the travelling path of said flexible traction member. The guiding and reversing means may simply be constituted by the lip, or edge, of an aperture provided in the container wall to allow the flexible traction member to pass through the latter.

Such aperture may be constituted by a slot provided at the end of the tubular container wall in thevicinity of the dispensing opening of the container.

The control means may be constituted by at least one rotatable drum-like member for winding up the flexible traction member, said drum-like member, being advantageously mounted coaxially on the tubular body of the container in the vicinity of the dispersing opening thereof. Alternatively, said control means may be constituted by at least one slide displaceab-le along the tubular body at the outside thereof. .The control means may comprise friction member-s for fricticnably locking said control means in any given position with respect to the container wall, between any two successive dispensing operations. To this end, the container wall and the control means may be provided with mutually and frictionably engageable portions of complementary shape which provide not only for said locking action, but also for the guiding of said control means when the latter is being actuated. v

The movable member, or movable bottom, may comprise at least one recess for accommodating the traction means which may pass across or through said movable bottom member. In a preferred embodiment the latter comprises at least two diametrically opposed notches provided in the peripheral edge of the movable bottom member.

A removable plug may be used for sealing in conventional manner the dispensing opening of the container when the latter is not in use.

In the case of containers for pasty substances and in containers for liquid substances, the substance to be dispensed may be contained in a foldable flexible bag or pocket, communicating only with the dispensing opening of the container.

In the case of containers for solid substances the movable bottom may be constituted by a section of ribbon or thread forming the traction means, at least one end of said ribbon or thread being connected to the control means.

The invention will be better understood from the following detailed description with reference to the accompanying drawings which show, by way of examples, several embodiments of the invention.

In these drawings:

FIG. 1 is a partial diagrammatic view in perspective of a tablet tube according to the invention.

FIG. 2 is a vertical section of the tube of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic section of a variant comprising a lateral dispensing opening.

FIG. 4 is a vertical diagrammatic view of a paste container according to the invention.

FIG. is a diagrammatic front view, partly in section, of a liquid container according to the invention, and

FIG. 6 is a perspective diagrammatic view, partly in section, of a container according to the invention for tablets having a rectangular parallepiped shape.

FIGS. 1 and 2 show a device Comprising a tubular body 1 inside of which moves a movable bottom 2 constituted by a disk provided with two diametrically opposed notches 3 and 4 through which passes a thread 5. Each of the two sections of thread 5 passes through slots or openings 6, 7, respectively, provided at the open, or dispensing, end of the tubular body 1, and the free ends 8, 9 respectively, of each thread section is attached to a ring 10 rotatable with low friction about body 1. A removable plug 11 allows for sealing the container filled with tablets 12, between any two successive dispensing operations. When ring 10 is rotated, threads 5 wind up around body 1, as shown in FIG. 1, and draw the movable bottom 2 toward the dispensing opening of the tube, thus lifting up the tablets 12.

In the variant shown in FIG. 3, plug 11' is rigidly fixed once the tube has been filled. The tubular body 1 comprises a lateral opening having the shape of a slot 13 allowing for the passage of a single tablet 14. An annular closure member 15 is rotatably maintained between plug 11' and rotary ring 10. This annular member 15 has an opening 16 the form of which substantially corresponds to that of slot 13. By simply rotating ring 15 the user can selectively obturate or uncover slot 13 and thus shelter or dispense tablets 14 without being obliged to withdraw plug 11' to cause a tablet 14 to be dispensed from the container. Except for this feature, the functioning of this last described device is the same as that shown in FIGS, 1 and 2.

The container shown in FIG. 4 is filled with a pasty substance 17. It comprises a tubular body 18 closed at one of its ends by a fixed end wall 19 terminated by a nozzle 20 for dispensing paste 17. Ring 21 is rotatable with low friction around nozzle 20 over which it is elastically engaged. A plug-like member 22 slides inside of the tubular body 18 under the traction effect of thread 23 fixed at its center. Thread 23 passes through the wall 19 at 24 and then winds itself around an internal projection 25 of ring 21, constituting a winding drum.

When ring 21 is rotated, thread 23 winds itself around drum member 25 and draws plug 22 towards the nozzle 20. The pasty substance 17 is thus pressed towards the opening defined by nozzle 20 and forced out of the container.

The container shown in FIG. 5 comprises a tubular body 26 and a movable bottom 27 displaceable by thread 28, in a way similar to that of the tubes of FIGS. 1-3. In this embodiment, however, the substance is contained inside a pocket 29 which has an accordion-like shape and is terminated by a dispensing tube 30 which may be sealed by a plug (not shown). The ends of thread 28 are attached to a cap 31 which is rotatable with low friction about the end of the tubular body 26. Cap 31 comprises at its center a hole for the passage of tube 30. When cap 31 is rotated relative to the tubular body 26, thread 28 winds itself around tubular body 26 and displaces movable bottom 27. Movable bottom 27 thus progressively compresses pocket 29 and the frictional resistance of cap 31 on tubular body 26 prevents pocket 29 from reassuming its initial position after dispensing of any quantity of the substance from pocket 29 and thus prevents air from being drawn into the inside of the pocket.

In the last embodiment shown in FIG. 6, tablets 32 having a rectangular parallelepiped shape are supported inside a container 33 having a rectangular section which corresponds to that of tablets 32. The tablets 32 are supported by means of a ribbon 34 the middle section 35 of which constitutes a movable bottom, whereas the ends of the ribbon 34 are attached to a slide 36 mounted for 4 .7 axial displacement along container 33. Two notches "3 and 38 provided at the top end of container 33 guide the ribbon 34, and the bottom edges of these notches serve as a means for reversing the direction of ribbon 34 and are accordingly rounded-off. At least one of the outside lateral surfaces of container 33 is provided with notches such as 39 wherein a corresponding projection 40 of the slide 36 is able to be elastically engaged. The distance between any two adjacent parallel notches 39 substantially corresponds to the thickness of one tablet 32. Thus, the position of slide 36 indicates at any time, the exact amount of tablets 32 remaining in container 33.

When slide 36 is shifted a notch towards the bottom of container 33, the middle section 35 of ribbon 34 which carries tablets 32 is thus drawn towards the upper end of the container and one tablet is free for dispensing at each of the notches. A movable plug closure member of a type known per se, such as sliding cover 41 allows for sealing of? the open end of container 33 when it is not desired to extract a tablet 32 from the container.

It is obvious that a container according to the invention may be easily constructed; more particularly it may be made entirely of plastic material in a simple manner and at low manufacturing cost. The traction threads or ribbons may be advantageously made of ,a synthetic material, such as nylon material; The attachment ofthe ends of these threads or ribbons may be ensured by a thickened end having for example a spherical or conical shape, which fits in a correspondingly shaped recess of the ring or the runner. I

It is well understood that the invention is not-deemed to be limited by the examples described and illustrated and that it includes numerous variants and modifications, within the scope of the invention.

Thus the traction means may be associated with known actuating devices, such as springs, or else with manually actuated mechanical control devices known per so.

What I claim is: 1. A container comprising an elongated body having a central axis and :a discharge opening at one end and a further opening near said discharge opening offset from the axis of said body, a movable follower element in said body, a member mounted on said body for displacement relative to said elongated body, said member encircling said body and having an inner surface in sliding engagement with the outer surface of the body, said discharge opening being thereby unobstructed by said member, and

parallel container walls, said container being adapted-to.

contain stacked tablets, said connecting means comprising two thread members, said movable member being constituted by a portion of the length of said thread members extending within the body, said thread mem-- bers each extending from said portionwithin said container along one of said parallel walls towards said opening and through said further opening, and then outside of the body and along part of the length of the wall, said movable element comprising a slide encircling the body for manual displacement therealong, said thread being attached to said slide.

3. A container according to claim 1, further comprising means for locking said member which is mounted on the body for displacement against movement with respect to the body, between any two successive dispensing operations.

4. A container comprising a cylindrical body having a central axis and having a discharge opening at one r end and a further opening near said discharge opening and radially spaced from the axis of said body, a follower element movable in said body, a member mounted coaxially on said body in encircling relation for rotary motion about the axis of said body, said member having an inner surface in sliding engagement with the outer surface of the body, said discharge opening being thereby unobstructed by said member, and flexible connecting means extending through said further opening and having one end attached to said follower element and the other end attached to said rotatable member to move said follower element towards said discharge opening as the rotatable member is rotated to pull said connecting means through said further opening.

5. A container according to claim 4, comprising a bellows-like blag within said body for containing a substance which is to be dispensed, said bag being located in a space defined between said movable follower element and said body, said discharge opening being defined by a dispersing tube communicating with said bag and located adjacent said one end of the body.

6. A container comprising a cylindrical body having a central axis and having a discharge opening at one end and a further opening near said discharge opening, a follower element movable in said body, an annular member coaxially mounted on said body in encircling relation adjacent said further opening for rotary motion about the axis of the body, and a length of thread guidably extending through said further opening and having one end attached to said follower element and the other end attached to said rotatable member to move said follower element towards said discharge opening as the rotatable member is rotated to pull the thread through said further opening :and wind the thread around the body.

7. A container comprising a cylindrical body having one end provided with a discharge opening, said body being provided with diametrically opposed apertures adjacent said discharge opening, an annular ring supported externally on the body for rotation about an axis which is coaxial with the cylindrical body, a freely displaceable disc within said cylindrical body, and thread means connected to the disc and extending through the apertures for connection with the annular ring such that rotation of the ring around the cylindrical body will cause the thread means to be Wound around said body and the disc to be naised in the body.

8. A container as claimed in claim '7 wherein said thread means includes two lengths of threads which are connected to the disc at diametrically opposed locations, each length of thread extending through a corresponding aperture for connection to the ring at a location diametrically opposed to the location of the connection of the other of the lengths of threads with the ring.

9. A container as claimed in claim 8 wherein the cylindrical body has a wall and said lengths of threads are each proximate the wall of the cylindrical body.

10. A container as claimed in claim 8 wherein said annular ring has an [annular notch facing said wall of the cylindrical body for accommodating the thread therein.

11. A container as claimed in claim 8 wherein said disc is provided with diametrically opposed apertures, said thread means including a flexible thread passing through the apertures in the disc and extending longitudinally in two distinct lengths through corresponding apertures in said body for connection to the ring at a location which is diametrically opposed to the location of the connection of the other of the lengths of thread with the ring.

12. A container as claimed in claim 11 wherein said thread is a single continuous element.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 993,579 5/1911 Craven 222--392 1,207,870 12/1916 Craven 222-392 1,368,349 2/1921 Novalk 222392 1,468,152 9/ 1923 Hemstreet 222-392 X 1,656,478 1/1928 Geake 222392 1,669,001 5/1928 Gelake 222-392 2,449,395 9/1948 Lakso 222-392 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,219,877 12/1959 France.

LOUIS J. DEMBO, Primary Examiner.

EUGENE F. BLANCHARD, EVERETT W. KIRBY, Examiners. 

1. A CONTAINER COMPRISING AN ELONGATED BODY HAVING A CENTRAL AXIS AND A DISCHARGE OPENING AT ONE END AND A FURTHER OPENING NEAR SAID DISCHARGE OPENING OFFSET FROM THE AXIS OF SAID BODY, A MOVABLE FOLLOWER ELEMENT IN SAID BODY, A MEMBER MOUNTED ON SAID BODY FOR DISPLACEMENT RELATIVE TO SAID ELONGATED BODY, SAID MEMBER ENCIRCLING SAID BODY AND HAVING AN INNER SURFACE IN SLIDING ENGAGEMENT WITH THE OUTER SURFACE OF THE BODY, SAID DISCHARGE OPENING BEING THEREBY UNOBSTRUCTED BY SAID MEMBER, AND FLEXIBLE CONNECTING MEANS EXTENDING THROUGH SAID FURTHER OPENING AND ATTACHED TO SAID FOLLOWER ELEMENT AND TO SAID MEMBER TO MOVE SAID FOLLOWER ELEMENT TOWARDS SAID DISCHARGE OPENING AS SAID MEMBER IS MOVED WITH RESPECT TO SAID BODY TO PULL SAID CONNECTING MEANS THROUGH SAID FURTHER OPENING. 